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Player who must step up: QB Taysom Hill

This one's kind of obvious, isn't it. This could be Hill's last real chance to prove he should be considered as a legitimate QB option -- and it couldn't have started much worse than his four-interception game in Week 13. To ramp up the degree of difficulty, Hill also suffered a mallet finger injury on his throwing hand, and he is still dealing with a partially torn plantar fascia from Week 10. The good news? He could get vital reinforcements such as running back Alvin Kamara and offensive tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk back as early as this week. And expectations couldn't be lower for Hill -- so an unlikely playoff run could go a long way in boosting his reputation. -- Mike Triplett

Taysom Hill added some much-needed excitement to the offense, but the desired result remained elusive for the Saints, who continued their stumble out of the playoff picture in a prime-time loss to the Cowboys. The game turned during a disastrous fourth-quarter sequence that featured three interceptions in six pass attempts by Hill -- clearly affected by a finger injury suffered in the half. New Orleans could still make noise with a win streak, but that's not happening unless they get healthy at key spots on the offensive line (Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk) and running back (Alvin Kamara). Hill's finger issue is a concern, as well, though it's unclear if it'll require surgery in the near term or if he'll be able to play through it.

They've had so many injuries to deal with that it's just too much to overcome. The fast start has faded into the background.

Coach Sean Payton had never lost five straight in New Orleans since his arrival in 2006 ... until now.

Best-case scenario: Drew Brees isn't coming back and Sean Payton isn't going to rehire former Saints assistant Joe Brady, who is available after being fired in Carolina. But the offense -- which has been un-Saintslike all season -- should get a boost with Alvin Kamara, Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk all expected back soon. The best thing that could happen might also be for the Saints to fall further out of the playoff picture and give Ian Book a shot to see if he deserves to be in their future plans. On the bright side: Saints fans still have Mardi Gras to look forward to.